It is often desirable to provide some means for collecting metal particles from hydraulic systems. This is usually accomplished by magnetic washers disposed within the filter element and operable to remove metallic chips and the like small enough to pass through the filter element.
While such magnetic washers are generally satisfactory they do have several important disadvantages. Only those metallic particles small enough to pass through the filter element are collected for removal from the system so that larger chips remain in the system and must be removed by other means. Removal of the washers for cleaning and replacement is difficult.
Flexible magnet members have been heretofore provided which are adapted to be mounted around the exterior surface of filter elements for removing metal particles from the fluid system. Such flexible magnet members, however, have only been capable of use with filter elements within a rather narrow range of diameters so that many different sizes had to be provided to accommodate the many different sizes of filter elements in use.